Maggie, Love you passion! You are a great inspiration!
Any chance you'd have time to send a booklist with some of your favorite books - the ones that catch the "non-reader?" I teach 5th grade - a younger group - but maybe there'd be some that would be equally as enticing to a 5th grader. Thanks for sharing your story! Terry On Sun, Aug 7, 2011 at 4:08 PM, Mnayer, Maggie <mnay...@waterloo.k12.ia.us>wrote: > Jean, > > I teach 9th and 10th grade English and Reading for 9-12 graders in an urban > school and share your struggle. There are several conclusions I have come > to. First of all, school is an academic environment and I argue my students > can read the more objectionable books at home or on their own time. I have > over 1100 books in my personal classroom library and most of them are > considered high interest for adolescents, especially young men. My job is > to introduce them to the various genres of books (I read little snippets of > the different books available to them) and set them loose. I also provide > 5-15 minutes at the beginning of each class to read their self-selected > books. This allows me to opportunities to share with them other works by > either same author or authors with similar writing styles. Second, they > need to learn, much like the language they use, there is a time and place > for everything. How I speak to my family is not the same as how I speak at > school or at the university where I am teaching classes. There is a casual > conversation and a formal conversation. I only allow formal conversation in > the classroom. Keeping that in mind, makes it easy to translate that > argument into the rationale that there are school appropriate books and > those that are not school appropriate. Furthermore, many of my students > would be very uncomfortable with explicit sex, violence, and language, all > of which are what I consider objectionable. There many high interest > nonfiction books that have hooked the most apathetic of students when their > interests have been tapped. Third, if they argue the only books they are > interested are the ones that have objectionable material in them, they are > grasping at straws and aren't going to read anyway. In my experience, those > who want to read books that are "keeping it real" for them are those that > want validation that the self-destructive choices they are making (choosing > to become part of the culture of drugs and violence that surrounds them) are > "normal" and then they won't have to feel guilt or question those choices. > That life may be normal for a small segment of our society, but it will not > help our students make less risky choices by giving them the idea it is > normal for the rest of our society. Every year, several of my students tell > me that EVERYONE is in a gang, EVERYONE is involved in violence, and so on. > Well, everyone isn't, just many of the people they know and by including > those lifestyles in literature selections for them to read, you are telling > them it is acceptable and normal. I have big issues with any teacher sending > those messages. I believe a large part of my job is exposing my students to > the world outside of their limited exposure. There is an entire world > outside of our town and I want my students to assertively choose where and > how they will fit into it and not just do what they see around them. They > may still choose that in the end, but it won't be because they did not know > there was something out there that was a better fit for their personalities > and strengths. Somewhere between objectionable and Shakespeare, there is a > wonderfully wide range of amazing books that students can explore, read, > and enjoy. > > I am sorry this is so long, but I am really passionate about this topic and > truly believe this is an inroad we can use to help our students break out of > negative cycles and can be one of the tools they can use to reshape the way > they see themselves and their futures. I know this from personal > experience. My 11th grade English teacher was the first person EVER to tell > me I was smart and should go to college. No one in my family even > graduated from high school and I was told that I was NOT going to college. > I was not smart enough and they weren't spending the money on something as > foolish as school. I now have my MA and not only teach in high school, but > also teach adjunct courses at the local university. So, I know from > personal experience that a teacher planting seeds of change CAN, in fact, > completely alter a child's lifetime course. Oh, she also took me to my > first opera and told me there was a whole world outside my home and that I > should be part of that too. I would have always felt outside those worlds > without her telling me I belonged there too. > > Maggie > > ________________________________________ > From: > mosaic-bounces+mnayerm=waterloo.k12.ia...@literacyworkshop.org[mosaic-bounces+mnayerm= > waterloo.k12.ia...@literacyworkshop.org] On Behalf Of > jeanhamil...@comcast.net [jeanhamil...@comcast.net] > Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2011 9:22 AM > To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org > Subject: [MOSAIC] Young Adult Book Selections > > For all you high school teachers out there--how do you feel about > independent/ classroom library book selections for teens? I find teens like > to read books that keep it "real." Keeping it real may sometimes mean > objectionable material. It is my task to order books for the "at risk" > students in our building who are not earning proficient scores on the state > tests to ENCOURAGE reading. The "objectionable" books are the absolute > ticket, yet I struggle with defending them. These students will not be > "turned on" to reading by handing them the classics--yet, it is always my > goal to get them there. I have found that beginning with books they find > relevant to their lives gets them reading and helps them build confidence in > their reading ability ; at that point, they are more willing to take the > journey with me into the more traditional readings like Gatsby and really > get it. I would love to hear your thoughts on this sticky issue. Thanks, > jean > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive > > > NOTICE TO RECIPIENT: This communication and any response to it may > constitute a public record, and therefore, may be available upon request in > accordance with Iowa public records law, Iowa Code chapter 22. > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive > > -- *Stress (substitue "worry") is a form of atheism; it infers that you do not believe God is in control.* * * `´*:-.,_,.-:*´`´*:-,_,.-:*´`´*:-.,_,.-:*´`´*: _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive
